1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transgastric endoscopy. Specifically, this invention embodies a transgastric approach utilizing a set of tools that allow and enhance physical removal of visceral fat adhering to or lining organs within or lining the peritoneal cavity.
2. Description of Related Art
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic affecting people of all ages, races, ethnicities and genders. Based on the 2000 census data, 64.8% of adults in the United States were overweight or obese, and secondary health concerns related to obesity reach across all medical spectrums. Recently, the scientific and medical community have focused its attention on the effects of visceral fat, or fat cells that are formed on the outer surface of organs. Unlike fat cells formed under the skin, most visceral fat cells are found beneath layers of muscle, such as that formed in the peritoneal cavity on organs under the abdominal muscles. High quantities of visceral fat can be linked to and may be indicators of heart disease and stroke. These fat cells are hard to remove using current procedures and infection with current methods is an omnipresent concern.
Traditional laparoscopy or visualization of the peritoneal cavity is either done with a flexible scope for merely diagnostic purposes or with rigid scopes for therapeutic procedures. With the rigid scope procedures, the procedure is typically performed while being observed by secondary scopes positioned at various strategic positions in the peritoneal cavity. Therefore, under current practices, flexible scopes that allow for visualization generally are not used for conducting the therapeutic procedures by themselves, and the rigid scopes that have the tools necessary to perform the tasks associated with the therapeutic procedures require the use of additional flexible scopes so the doctor or operator can view the tasks and procedure being performed. In addition to the infection concerns discussed above, these procedures have long recovery periods for the patient because the tears or cuts through the abdominal muscle tissue is often necessary for scope insertion and to perform procedures.
In the field of gastroenterology, with traditional gastrointestinal endoscopy, many tasks are performed with a scope that also allows the operator to view the tasks and procedures being performed. Typical gastrointestinal endoscopies, however, are limited to work within the lumen or interior tissue of the gastrointestinal tract or associated organs, and not in the peritoneal cavity.
There is a growing interest in the medical field of performing procedures in which the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract is breached in order to reach the organs in the peritoneal cavity. Infection due to the contents of the lumen remains a concern, but the benefits of such a surgery or other therapeutic procedures as compared to entering through the skin and muscle can be quite beneficial.